Negotiating with Bourdieu

Abstract

This chapter discusses Bourdieu’s theory of practice by drawing on his key concepts of habitus, field, and capital, providing definitions of the terms as they appear in the work of Pierre Bourdieu. It then highlights some of the common critiques of Bourdieu’s overall theory of practice and offers some counterarguments to these. The chapter develops Bourdieusian theory through the notion of forms of habitus interruptions, which accounts for multiple ways in which individuals can inhabit two conflicting fields.